


i see the light

by abbsheart



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Mental Health Issues, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, horizon being the mom we all want, mirage is an idiot, they all need therapy tbh, wattson is adorable, wraith is a subtle idiot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:27:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29551401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abbsheart/pseuds/abbsheart
Summary: wraith needs to take a joke and worry about herself; meanwhile, mirage needs to be serious and worry about himself.just two idiots finding love in a blood sport.
Relationships: Mirage | Elliott Witt/Wraith | Renee Blasey
Kudos: 15





	1. watching from the windows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the ring is settling in quick, wraith seems off, mirage is bleeding through the pain
> 
> what's next?

The ring was dangerously close and Wraith was seconds away from finishing her Medkit. She's seen this scenario way too many times before- so have the voices in her mind. They're telling her to lean on the door on her left, to watch her back, and aim in front of her. Right now, the constant bickering in her head was distracting her from truly concreating on the game.

"You all patched up? We gotta move." Mirage opened the door to the tiny shack Wraith had positioned herself in. They were in a three-squad fight just moments before and their third teammate was not so lucky.

She gave a quick nod and holstered her Flatline before walking out. The shining sun glistened down and made her partially blind. Covering her eyes, Wraith checked to see how much time they had on a nearby banner. She grumbled to herself as she read they had 50 seconds to get into the next ring.

Luckily, the ring wasn't too far. Mirage was already a couple of feet ahead of her, but she had no issue catching up. Looking around at the scenery of King's Canyon, she forgets that she's in a blood sport and not on a luxury vacation. Sometimes she hopes to escape this game of death, but what answers would arise from that? When they arrived just a few feet inside the ring, Wraith hurriedly ran inside for cover. 

Mirage trotted behind her confused, "Don't take offense to this," Wraith darted her eyes towards him in an irritated manner, "But you are not usually one to coward down and camp in a room." He thought carefully before choosing his next words, "I don't want to intrude in your-..."

"Mirage please be quiet!" Wraith huffily shouted before taking off the sniper behind her back. She glanced outside the large window and aimed towards the Bunker as the large door was continuously opening and closing.

Mirage could instantly tell he overstepped his boundaries with Wraith and the tension in the room was proof of it. His relationship with Wraith was iffy at most, of course, they were friends, but he never got close enough to tell what she was thinking. Wraith carried herself in such a mysterious way that it was difficult to tell if she would laugh or punch him. He wanted to get on friendlier terms especially with her helping him financially at the bar, but somehow he would slip up his wording or try to smooth his way into a conversation going nowhere. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to lash out." Wraith's sudden apology snapped Mirage out his thoughts, but her eyes didn't leave the sniper, "These last few weeks have been hard, I-"

_Sniper, move!_

Wraith pushed Mirage away with such force, he stumbled straight to the ground. The sniper bullet grazed the top of her bun as she went flying forward, barely dodging an almost fatal shot.

"Woah, you saved me big time! That grants you one free drink." Mirage laughed to himself as he helped Wraith up. 

"You sure the bar can take you handing out free drink coupons for every person that saves you?"

"Ouch, way to hurt me while I'm down."

Before she would respond, an arc star stuck itself on the wall facing the window. Soon, the squad that threw it would be surrounding the building before the duo had any time to position themselves. Wraith needed to act quickly otherwise she would be transported to Respawn Chamber and treated for her injuries, something she would rather die than doing. Her portal was ready but could she risk leaving Mirage here by himself for such a long time?

"What's the plan? If we continue to sit here, we're going to get pinched. " Mirage relocated towards the entrance door and threw his back against the wall next to it. He carefully waited to see if anyone would come through. "There's us, the squad that's throwing 'nades at us, and some other squad picking their nose."

_You're in their sights._

It was impossible for the squad that was currently attacking to see her from the opposite corner. It clicked that the other squad was ready to start to attack at any moment, "I'm not sure, but someone's watching me. We have to start moving immediately"

"Right, is your portal ready? I'll try to distract them with some decoys while you rush us to an adv-...advantage point." 

Wraith nodded and started the tunnel out of the view from both squads, but as she went into the void she could hear shots and an explosion before it muting completely. She ran as fast as she could, and climbed an endless loop of cliffs before finding a superior spot. She prayed the next ring rotation would be in their favor, but most importantly that Mirage would leave the building alive. 

She looked down at the building closest to her to see the room she was in earlier. The two squads were currently attacking each other and smoke was building up in every corner. Bangalore was close and she doesn't go down without a fight. That only made Wraith more paranoid, while she hated hospitals and doctors, being alone was something she feared more. 

It felt like an eternity before Wraith heard the portal being used. She hurriedly aimed towards her friendly portal in case Mirage failed at distracting, which would be a first in her book. However, she felt a sense of peace when she saw an injured, not dead, Mirage. The portal closed swiftly behind him, and she rushed to pull out a Phoniex Kit from her bag before handing it off. 

"Turns out the Master Bamboolzer needs some extra work on bamboozling." Mirage cracked a joke as if the massive blood injury starting at his ribs and ending at his belly button wasn't a big deal. Wraith carefully sat him down behind a rock, concealing both of them. 

"Do you need anything else? I don't think your jokes are going to heal the massive wound." Wraith asserted while digging around in her bag for extra meds. Mirage was taken back by the sincerity in her voice. Usually, Wraith would give some meds and be done with him. The fact that he heard her address concern for him was new. 

Mirage finished the Phoenix Kit, "Nah, the Kit will give me more than enough time to fight without pain. It should heal most of it, unless-"

" **One** **Squad Remaining** " echoed throughout Kings Canyon, shutting Mirage up before he blabbered something stupid.

"Alright it's us and them, you ready?" Wraith brushed herself off before turning towards the building where the bloodshed happened. She pulled out her sniper to get a closer look, "It looks like a full squad. Don't recognize them though."

"Heh, Anita must be mad some newbies beat her. Servers her right though, she caused this cut." Mirage propped himself up, holding the rock for support. He didn't realize how much blood he actually lost until now. He watched Wraith constantly scanning the area, almost paranoid that someone would jump up at any angle and terminate her, "I'm ready when you are. I want to get back and shower as soon as possible."

Wraith aimed her sniper perfectly on the skull of the enemy as they were looting death boxes, "As soon as I shoot-," She pulled the trigger and immediately put down her target, "Now!" Carefully, Mirage slid down the cliff and sent decoys towards the two remaining squad members, and attempted to get behind them, while Wraith pushed from the front. Bullets whizzed past Wraith and one carefully sliced her cheek, but before they could get more accurate shots, she went into the void.

_They're aiming right at you._

_Go for a different angle._

_Use your wits, confuse them._

Confusing was not her specialty, but she could sure try. She slid underneath the porch of the building, waiting to see if anyone would drop down. Thankfully, she was able to wait out a few seconds so her void-jumping could charge. Before she could use it, she chose to be vulnerable to blow off the back door with her last remaining arc star. She wanted to give Mirage more of an opportunity to baffle them. However, she didn't clearly think through these opponent's ultimates, and a roaring earthquake was sent under her feet. The ground started to violently crack around her and she couldn't keep her footing down long enough to move. 

Mirage managed to get out of the vicinity of the earthquake by going towards the right of the building. Yet, he watched Wraith struggle to get into cover. If he didn't do something soon, he would be a solo in a duo battle. Both of the enemies climbed on top of the roof, one of which Mirage presumed to be the earthquake maker as they was covered in dirt compared to the cleaner partner. They chuckled as they aimed their LMGs straight onto Wraith as she tried to get used to the extreme shaking.

"Not so fast Smelly," Mirage quickly aimed with his Carbine and cracked the dirty one's shield, and that stopped the earthquake.

Wraith took no extra time to void-jump. She disappeared before reappearing behind them and finishing what Mirage started, "Behind you" she sneered. She took two shots and the duo team dropped to a solo. 

The remaining member of the enemy party quickly tried to make a jump for it, as nothing of theirs was charged up, but the final ring was closing in and they had no choice but to fight. They took one good shot at Wraith before being put down by Mirage underneath the both of them.

" **You are the Apex Champions.** " the AI Announcer's voice blared throughout the almost-empty map, and a relieved Wraith slid down to Mirage.

"Hey look at that, we actually won," Mirage smiled before he realized what he said, "I mean I always knew that we would win, never doubled that for a second... yeah."

Wraith cracked a smile, "So is that drink still on the house? Could definitely use it tonight."

"Yup, anytime," He looked Wraith up and down, "Only after you get yourself checked out."

She immediately frowned, but looking down she noticed a large bloodstain leaking through her abdomen. It must have been the last shot the final opponent got on her before they were downed. The shock would only last so long before she would start to notice extreme pain. Normally, she would heal herself to the best of her abilities, which explains the numerous amount of scars she has underneath her top. This time was different, as someone actually asked her to take care of herself. Wattson and Pathfinder would always come around after matches to give their congrats, but she never gave them the ability to see her wounds. 

"Fine," she huffed, "only if I get the best apple slices you have."

"I swear on my family's porkchop recipe that I will give you the best of the best." Mirage promised as the ship that comes the retrieve the Champions finally landed. 

_Better be the green ones,_ she thought before walking onto the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome to my first fic here on AO3! yes the title is from Tangled, i truly think the song represents them so well. i really tried to get the personifications of Mirage and Wraith's relationship into different scenarios, but of course, with adding little bits of miraith. somehow these best friends don't have interactions in the game yet, TOM. jokes aside, i definitely want to include other legends and some of my personal favorites (loba main). 
> 
> honestly, the most challenging thing was finding out how the game truly works. if mirage gets his brain blown is he dead forever? or is this a fake reality tv game show going on? its obviously broadcasted but is it Keeping Up w/ the Kardashians scripted?? let me know your predictions, haha.
> 
> until next time,  
> abby <3


	2. outside looking in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw!!  
> this chapter contains some PTSD flashbacks.
> 
> wraith hates doctors but wants her free coupon.  
> she also needs to find answers, but decided to go to a certain someone's bar instead.

Wraith grumbled to herself when she sat down on the Champion's ship, she loathed the alcohol smell and the sight of scrubs. When she agreed to be checked out in exchange for a free drink, she had no idea how nauseating it would feel. Sitting down on a hospital bed was not something she planned to do after a victory. The nurses hushed to themselves and start to pick up disinfectant spray and needles, which sent a shiver down Wraith's spine. Her heart started to race when the nurse sucked a liquid into it and walked towards her. She couldn't deal with this, especially today. Today was for celebrating, not panicking. 

"No needles," Wraith demanded coldly, "I said I wanted a physical, not an operation."

The nurse explained, "Yes Ms. Blasey, but the area surrounding the gunshot wound needs to be numbed. You're lucky the bullet only entered your soft tissue, otherwise you would be staying here overnight."

Wraith hung on to the fact at the possibility that she could have been staying in this foul-smelling room for more than 30 minutes, "Just take it out and give me antibiotic ointment. I took the pain of the bullet already."

The nurse sighed and nodded his head in agreement. However, Wraith never anticipated that the pain of taking the bullet out being much more intense than getting shot at. Wraith bit the inside of her lip as the nurse dug out fragments of the bullet from her side. The taste of blood entered Wraith's mouth as the last piece was taken out and placed into a little dish. 

"All out, we'll stitch you up and you'll be on your way." The nurse took the dish containing the bullet fragments and closed the curtain behind him. Wraith sighed to herself and swung her legs on top of the bed. As she dug her head into the pillows, she was almost glad that Mirage couldn't see how upset she was. He was taken to the opposite side of the ship because his wounds were much more serious than Wraith's. Somehow she knew he would try to make light of this situation. 

The lack of noise in the ship somewhat bothered Wraith. Usually, she hated the constant bickering outside her room from Ajay and Octane, but being stuck in a room with only a flickering light made her feel uneasy. She never wanted to reflect on her past and how little she truly remembers, but tiny things like staring into an almost burned-out light sent her back. 

The restraints, the needles, the voices.

The nurse returned with the stitches to suture her wound, "Alright get comfortable, this will be painful without the numbing injection."

Her current situation was all too much to take in, and her past memories would come flooding back over the slightest things. The constant fear for her life, her submissive behavior, the way she let those people touch her however they liked. She knew that wasn't how she is today, but fact that she used to be like that sickened her. She sank her head deeper into the pillows trying to ignore her heart beating out of her chest. Her throat started to tighten as her eyes darted back and forth, worrying if someone would inject a needle into her at any second.

The ship's hospital room turned into Singh's lab, the pillows turned into her straitjacket, and the nurses walking towards her were her torturers.

_Danger, move!_

_It’s not safe here._

_You’re in view of the enemy._

"Enough!" She screamed, startling the nurse that finished her stitches. Realizing what she thought she said in her mind was accidentally blurted out she quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-..." She was cut off by the screech of the ship's breaks, which lunged her forward. 

The Champion's Ship came to a jolting stop, "Good, just in time. You're all stitched up," The nurse handed Wraith a daily cleaning package for her other wounds before leaving and closing the curtain behind him.

Wraith heard giggles coming from the nurses as she gathered her things while Champion's Ship finally boarded the Drop Ship. The whispers of the nurses made Wraith feel anxious. Yet, she felt relieved to finally step a foot off of the repulsive ship. She wanted nothing more than to shower, change her clothes, and hibernate for the next week until the next Apex Game had to start. As soon as she stepped off of the Champion's ship she was met with praise from Wattson.

Wattson raced from the living area of the ship to greet her friend, "Oh Ms. Renee, your performance was _magnifique!_ I was chewing my nails the whole time." Wattson gave her friend a good hug, something Wraith was not accustomed to, "I was one of the first few squads eliminated, how embarrassing!"

Wraith pulled away from the hug to see a grinning Wattson, "Nat, I'm sure you did fine. Besides, we barely won."

"A win is a win, _mon ami._ Oh!" Wattson exclaimed, pulling out a card from her pocket, "Almost forgot! Mirage said to give this to you, he said he wanted to wait for you, but he had some business to do. He said something about a coupon, but then he kept rambling so I tuned out the rest."

"Thank you," Wraith had almost forgotten why she went through the physical in the first place, "I don't want to sound rude but I think I'm going to clean up. It wasn't a clean battle."

Wattson backed up, still smiling but slightly disappointed, "Of course, celebrate your flawless victory!" As Wraith walked towards the hallway of the ship that held her room, she glanced back to see Wattson wasted no time and was already talking to Crypto.

Her room wasn't necessarily the most extravagant of the bunch. She had all four of her different outfits neatly tucked away in a dresser drawer. Unlike Loba, she figured that finding answers and murdering her colleagues didn't need seventy different outfits. A desk was tucked in the corner next to her bed, which had the laptop containing everything she knows about herself the voidwalker tests. She gathered a spare set of her Games gear and headed towards her bathroom. 

Her mind was always racing in the shower, as there was nothing but her thoughts to keep her company. She knew so much already, but not nearly enough to make herself feel whole again. Her memories are foggy, her previous relationships are a complete mystery, and even who she was as a person was left for debate. She would reflect if the choices she's made up until now and wonder if they were good ones. How can she know the path that she's on is on the right path?

Stepping out of the shower and getting dressed, she moved her way towards her USB on the top of the dresser. Every file that Crypto could possibly access for now was on this, and she was only 35% done with reading all of it. She sat down and immediately began working on the Singh Lab files. Unfortunately, almost everything was wiped when Singh himself died, Crypto was only able to get the bare minimum. Wraith tried seeing the dilemma in an optimistic light on how even the bare minimum could be enough information to look somewhere else.

She kept digging for hours and she still wasn't closer to finding any information. The stress of the physical exam and the previous Apex Game caused Wraith to be more drained than usual. Yet, she powered through the line of files. She kept clicking on the records until suddenly everything faded to black.

* * *

Wraith awoke to a loud bang on her door, shaking her out of deep sleep on top of the laptop. She messily threw her hair up in a quick bun and opened her door to be met with a familiar MRVN.

”Hi friend!” Pathfinder waved and the monitor on his screen had a huge grin, “Everyone is heading out to the Paradise Lounge. You should come too!”

Wraith glanced at the drink coupon on her dresser and wondered if taking a night off was such a wise idea. If she kept stopping for breaks, she would never come closer to discovering herself. Yet, saying no to Pathfinder was harder than it looks. She took a beat to reflect and quickly shoved the coupon into her pocket. 

“Hmm... alright,” Wraith showed a small smile, “I won’t be there for long though.”

”Exciting!” The MRVN cheered as Wraith led the way to the Drop Ship’s entrance door. When opening the door, she had no idea how late it already had been since she started searching- and later napping. It had been at least three hours since she talked to Wattson.

Solace was a rather peaceful planet, although later hosting the first Apex Games, it was seemingly untouched by the war. The planet didn't truly thrive until the IMC chose it as a hub for research and development. As people fled from their war-torn homes, they found paradise at Solace. Perfect for a bar.

The doors to the Paradise Lounge were a barrier between the quiet street and the bustling bar. Taking a deep breath, Wraith opened the doors to meet the faces of all her colleagues staring at her. 

"Ey, there's the chica who single-handedly won the game!" Octane screamed, leaping off of his booth close to the bar.

Ajay scolded while dragging him back to his seat, "How about ya don't go leapin' off of tables? You gon' break somethin'!"

Wraith made her way towards the bar area where Mirage was wiping down glasses, "Also, single-handedly? We won as a duo." Which was met with laughter from the other legends.

"Keep believing that amigo, they do say ignorance is bliss." Octane blurted out before being playfully jabbed in the side from Ajay. He still was squirming in his seat and refused to sit still. 

"What a jerk," Mirage whispered before turning to Wraith, "So, I assume you didn't come here for my good looks."

She pulled out the coupon card from her pocket and slid it across the counter, "I didn't know good looks were apart of the deal. Where are they at?"

"Oh yeah laugh it up, might poison your drink if you continue." Mirage took the coupon and began to make her drink. He knew Wraith's drink by heart. She ordered the same thing every time she stepped foot in the bar, mostly because it was the first thing she ever ordered.

The day he first met her, her hair was about to her shoulders, and the only piece of actual clothing was her scarf. Her actual clothes seemed like she picked them out of a dirty thrift store. Mirage assumed she was just another person recovering from the war, and when he asked what she wanted to drink, she completely froze. She was timid for a second before glancing at the alcoholic menu.

He assumed she ordered the first thing she saw which was an Appletini, he shuddered in disgust the entire time he was making it. Yet, she seemed scary enough to kick him through the window. When he looked up to give it to her, her persona had complete change, her timid eyes went to stonecold as she listened in to people talking about the Apex Games. Which prompted Mirage to brag about being apart of the Games himself. When he did, she took her glass and stormed out the door, never turning around once. He was somewhat afraid she was offended and was constantly looking around for days, scared she would show up. Weeks later, he saw a familiar face join the legends roster.

"One sweet and delicious Appletini, with the best apple slices the Paradise Lounge has to offer." He carefully handed the best martini he ever mixed to Wraith. 

"Which doesn't mean much," Crypto warned, sliding next to Wraith's stool. He appeared out of thin air, which is not a shock. 

Mirage quickly death stared his rival, "Nobody invited you, Old Fart. Besides, don't you have some kind of lame hacking to do?"

" _Neo babo ya._ " Crypto handed a flash drive to Wraith, "Here's everything else I could find on the IMC Labs and their projects. Not much but you might find something."

Wraith was shocked hearing Crypto could have found something more than what she already had. Regardless, she thanked him to which he only nodded, fixed his collar, and walked out the door.

"He thinks he's so cool which his _stupid drone_ ," Mirage mocked in a ridiculously high-pitched voice, " _Look at me, I'm Crypto! I think I'm so awesome with my whole no identity thing_." 

"You seem a bit jealous," Wraith added between sips. 

"ME? Jealous? Jealous of Crypto? Who would even be jealous of Crypto? Why would you even envis-...envi... think about that?"

"Hm, I wonder why," Wraith smirked.

Mirage was going to reply before his phone rang, "Ramps finally fixed our hot water, I'm gonna go test it."

"Why? So you can try your jacuzzi?"

"...Maybe."

When he left, Wraith turned to watch her other colleagues. Bangalore challenged Loba to an arm-wrestling contest and that girl can't refuse a bet. Wattson and Pathfinder cheered them on as each word of encouragement seemed to fuel the girls more. In the booth behind them, Gibraltar and Lifeline seemed to be in a meaningful conversation, while Octane was restlessly moving his mechanical legs in boredom. 

Wraith slid in her seat a bit, she never noticed how much of a bond her colleagues have. Hell, she calls them her _colleagues_ instead of friends. The truth is, other than Natalie and Path... maybe Mirage, she never had a bond with the other legends. She knew in the Games they would have her back, and she would have theirs, but in the real world... she had nothing. 

She sat there a moment watching the pure happiness and laughter escape from her teammate's mouths. Surprisingly, she smiled too, but not one of joy. She never knew how little of an impact she made. In the Games, she was a fan-favorite, constantly loved for her harsh and cold behavior towards others. Not here though. The emptiness was killing her, she should have been used to loneliness by now, but somehow it still stung. It still hurt like the day she left the labs. 

She quietly finished her drink and left a tip. She would feel bad not giving Mirage some kind of money. Sliding out of her stool, Wraith left the bar hoping nobody would notice her absence.

She was a fool for believing that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! it began a little dark but i wanted to lighten the mood up a bit at the end. the title is really how wraith is in general. socially, she is always outside the group watching from afar. physically, she is always outside her own thoughts when she gets flashbacks. i hope i gave justice to the french and korean translations, i speak neither but felt it wrong to not include something so precious to their characters. again, i want to add the other legends, but don't want to force it. i want their relationship's with the other legends to seem real. so of course revenant or caustic won't show up, they hate certain people's guts (cough loba and crypto cough). i'm sure bloodhound had better things to do anyway, they always seem busy.  
> anyways im tired, see ya next time  
> abby <3


End file.
